


Two Truths, One Lie

by nanisorero (miriam_lee)



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Conversation Games, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 00:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15807453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miriam_lee/pseuds/nanisorero
Summary: A group study session morphs into a conversation game that leads to some awkward and weird revelations.





	Two Truths, One Lie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [@honenenen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%40honenenen).



> A gift for a good friend ☆  
> Happy Birthday, Hon! Thank you for all those times you, your words, and your art have made me smile.  
> Wish you all the comfort you want to have in your life, because you deserve it so much! There're always those, who care about you and will always support you, so never give up ٩(๑･ิᴗ･ิ)۶

“Gee, I feel like I’ve used my week’s supply of ability to concentrate.”

Chie shut the textbook she’d been reading – staring in, at least – and looked up at her three companions, all slouching over their study materials at Souji’s working table.

“Let’s take a break maybe, huh?”

“..We’ve only been studying for an hour,” Souji, who was sitting right across Chie, arched an eyebrow in surprise.

“Wait, seriously?!” after taking out his cell to double check, Yosuke squinted at the digits. “Man, I thought it’s been, like, three.” He turned to his left. “Did it really feel like an hour to you?”

Souji answered with a slight nod.

“Do you guys.. always study this hard?” His brows knitted together, Kanji lifted his gaze from the printouts.

“Nah, Chie and I hardly ever do anything at all,” Yosuke replied, earning an instant glare from Chie.

“Hey, speak for yourself!”

“C’mon, your grades are almost as crappy as mine,” Yosuke spread his hands and then smirked, pointing at Souji. “Now partner’s a different story. I can't imagine how he can balance the TV world, work, clubs, friends, and studies like that.”

Chie snickered.

“That was some proud mom tone there, Yosuke.”

“Shut up,” he returned the glare and then closed his eyes with a sigh. “Anyway, I also think that a break is a good idea. I can’t keep up with the multitasking genius sitting next to me.”

Kanji blinked and looked at Souji.

“Huh?”

“You haven’t even noticed?” Yosuke clicked his tongue and gestured at Souji’s papers. “He’s been translating stuff for his work the whole time along with doing the home tasks.”

Kanji and Chie hunched over the papers that were lying in front of Souji and then looked at him with a mixture of shock and admiration in their eyes.

“Woah, senpai, that’s crazy!”

“Yeah, you’re unbelievable! I can’t focus even on a single thing, haha..”

Flustered, Souji rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, the school tasks are just really easy this time, right?”

Both Chie and Yosuke glanced at their own notes they were definitely having troubles with and exchanged sour looks.

“Um, I know you’re trying to make us feel better, partner, but.. please, don’t.”

Souji didn’t fully understand what was wrong with his line choice, but decided to change the topic instead.

“Let’s take a break then,” he put his pencil aside. “You guys wanna have a drink or something?”

“Nanako-chan said she’d call us for dinner when your uncle’s back from work, so relax.” A grin appeared on Yosuke’s face. “I’ve got a better idea.”

“..And I’ve got a bad feeling about it,” Chie grumbled, but Yosuke was too invested in his plan to even hear her.

“We’re the Investigation Team, right? So, we gotta train our investigative thinking!”

“I.. thought we were gonna take a break from ‘thinking’, Yosuke-senpai,” Kanji scratched his head. “Cuz I’m kinda outta steam after all this school stuff. Haven’t done that in a while.”

“Not _that_ sort of thinking,” Yosuke waved him off and announced: “We’re gonna play ‘Two Truths and One Lie’. Each of us, in turns, will share three personal facts and the others should guess which one of them is a lie.”

Souji looked at the others with a smile.

“Well, sounds fun. Guess I’m in.”

Chie and Kanji, who were hesitant just a moment ago, both shrugged.

“No harm in trying.”

“Yeah, but Yosuke’s first.”

“Fine, fine. Don’t think you can stop me with that.”

Yosuke rolled his eyes to the ceiling and was contemplating for a few moments.

“Okay, so.. one: I had a sweet date with a crush once; two: there’s no specific reason I started to dye my hair; and three: I never studied in a co-ed school in the city.”

Chie burst out laughing.

“You know how ridiculous one and three sound together, right?”

“Hey, it’s not Inaba with its Yaso High only, I could’ve dated a girl from any other school,” Yosuke crossed his arms over his chest. “And all the facts aren’t necessarily true anyway.”

“Then I’d say the first one is fishy,” Chie mirrored Yosuke’s gesture. “You’re always so desperate with girls you definitely look like the type who only studied around guys half his life.”

“I’m not ‘desperate’!”

“I don’t think Yosuke would tell a lie that he wouldn’t like getting exposed,” Souji pondered aloud, “Telling he was on a date only to have to admit it never happened…” He shook his head. “I’m sure the first one’s true.”

“You gotta all agree and point out the _lie_ , but.. that’s some impressive demonstration of detective thinking, partner!” Yosuke winked at Souji and then looked at Chie and Kanji. “You also can ask me questions, you know. I have to say truth about the true facts but can lie about the lie.”

“What’s the point of asking you anything then?” Kanji snorted. “But alright, what’s up with that hair thing? No one just dyes it every goddamn month for no reason!”

“I do.”

Everyone’s dumbfounded stares immediately locked on Souji.

“I just like how it looks,” he shrugged. “But I wouldn’t call it a special reason. More like a habit already.”

Everyone blinked, making Souji realize they just had a major revelation.

“..Don’t tell me you.. thought it was naturally grey?”

There was a moment of awkward silence, followed by Chie’s sigh.

“Without Yukiko, we’re a dye-your-hair combo here, huh.”

Kanji’s and Yosuke’s startled looks shifted to Chie, with Souji joining in.

“Wait, I asked Yukiko about your hair once and I’m sure she said it’s your natural color,” Yosuke furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Well, the thing is..” Chie chuckled nervously, “..she doesn’t know I’m dyeing it. Honestly, I don’t even wanna do it anymore, I’m too lazy. But we were still in junior school when I and Yukiko met and I already had it dyed back then, so it’d look weird if I suddenly-..”

“You’ve been dyeing it since junior school?!” all three exclaimed at once.

“Okay, that’s it, forget I ever said anything about my hair,” she shook her head and then pointed her finger at Yosuke. “Souji-kun’s right, you’d only lie about something you’d love to talk about. That’s not something basic like a co-ed school, so my vote’s for the second point.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying!” Kanji agreed.

They both turned to Souji, awaiting his opinion.

“Let’s go with that,” he nodded.

“Well?” Chie turned back to Yosuke with a restless enthusiasm in her voice.

His eyes closed, Yosuke heaved a deep sigh.

“And here I thought the hair talk sidetracked your attention,” he waved his hand. “Yeah-yeah, there _was_ a reason I started to dye my hair.”

“Yeah, we won!” Chie threw her arms in the air. “Okay, who’s next?”

Yosuke blinked.

“You’re.. not gonna ask me about the reason?”

“I don’t think there’s something interesting about it. And I bet there’s some girl involved. So nah.”

Seeing, how Chie's answer left Yosuke completely disappointed, Souji interfered.

“ _I_ ’d love to know.”

“Man, seriously?” Yosuke lightened up at once and rubbed his nose, smiling. “Okay, can’t hide it from you after you believed in the first fact right away. So, there was one girl I liked in middle school and-…”

“Here we go,” Chie muttered, rolling her eyes up.

“…-and then during that walk she was telling me how I resemble her someone really cool and how she thinks I’d look even cuter if my hair was this ‘reddish-brownish’ color,” Yosuke said proudly. “So I was saving up money until I finally got enough to go to the salon and had my hair dyed. And, well, I kinda got used to the look.”

“That’s your _date_ , Yosuke-senpai? A walk in the park with a girl who was just tellin’ ya that with dyed hair you’d look like some other guy she probably had a real crush on??”

The room sank into an uncomfortable silence.

“Sheesh, Kanji-kun, you don’t just spit out the truth like that,” Chie whispered over the table. “It’s a childhood memory, he didn’t even realize this back then. If you point this out now, he’ll be traumatized!”

“..I can hear you, you know,” Yosuke mumbled and covered his eyes with his right palm. “Damn, it was a really good memory. Why did I even share it with you to get it ruined...”

“I don’t think a girl, who only saw you as a replacement for someone else, deserves to be your ‘good memory’,” Souji said and gave Yosuke a comforting smile. “But at least she wasn’t wrong about this color making you look good.”

Abashed, Yosuke casted his eyes down and ruffled his hair.

“Well, uh.. Guess you're right. Thanks, partner,” he smiled sheepishly and, having somewhat recovered, pointed at Kanji with his chin. “Okay, you’re next.”

Kanji’s eyebrows flew up.

“Eh, me? I haven’t come up with nothing yet.”

“Just say three things about yourself phrasing one of them as the opposite to truth, like I did.”

“..Alright, er..” Kanji scratched the back of his head. “I’ve.. never been to jail,..”

“Lie,” Yosuke didn’t even let him finish. “They’ve detained you like three times since the start of the year, dude, the whole school knows about it.”

As if forcing good ideas to pop in his mind, Kanji scratched his head even more energetically.

“I.. think spiders ‘re cute..”

“Lie.”

“Will ya let me finish, dammit?!” Kanji pounded both hands on the table. “Does the whole school also know I hate these creepy bastards?!”

“Nope, that was just my intuition,” Yosuke sneered. “But looks like it was spot on.”

Kanji let out a heavy sigh.

“If you just wanna take revenge on me, senpai, I ain’t playing.”

“Oh, c’mon. It’s you who started with a lie twice, don't make a pattern.”

“Okay-okay, calm down, guys. I’ll be next, fine?” Chie tore out a page out of her notepad, took a pencil, and started writing. “And I’m adding a new rule: we write all the facts down and then show them all three at once. Agree?”

“Yeah, great idea, Chie,” Souji smiled at her, thankful for stopping a commotion.

“Well, here goes,” Chie put the pencil down and turned the paper sheet over, holding it in front of herself.

“ ‘1. I like TaP soda. 2. I’d want to have a sibling. 3. My favorite ice cream flavor is mint,’” Yosuke read the points aloud and closed his eyes. “Somehow I’m not surprised to see so much food-related things. How the hell are we supposed to know this?”

“How the hell were _we_ supposed to know about your school, dates, and stuff,” Chie countered him.

“Those were facts that could’ve been deduced. _These_ are preferences only Yukiko would know about!”

“Yep, she would. But she’s not here,” Chie hummed, smirking.

“Is calling Yukiko-senpai an option in this game?”

“Awesome, Kanji!” Yosuke snapped his fingers. “Partner, you’ve got her number, right?”

Chie was the first one to react to his question.

“Yosuke, what the hell?!”

“Hey, you just changed the rules a few minutes ago, why can’t we?”

“I think this will make the game meaningless,” Souji said in a level voice. “Didn't we want to train our investigative skills?”

Yosuke sighed with his eyes closed.

“Man, this stuff is impossible to investigate. But.. fine, uh,” he shifted his gaze to Chie. “You'd prefer a brother or a sister?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Chie answered with a half shrug. ”Just younger than me.”

“Like Nanako?” Souji asked, getting into specifics.

“Mm, yeah, if they were around that age, it’d be cool. I’d love to be a big protecting sis.”

“Sounds like a typical Chie, so I’d say it’s true,” Yosuke sighed again. “Now with food, I don’t even know where to begin...”

“Where d’you buy TaP soda?” Kanji asked.

“Near the bike shop.”

“She’d know that even if she didn’t like it,” Yosuke shook his head. “That’s the problem with these taste facts – you either know or... Wait, that shop’s near your house, right? You ever seen her there?”

Kanji shrugged.

“Dunno. I don’t pay attention to strangers if they ain’t causing me or ma trouble.”

Yosuke’s shoulders dropped.

“That was our last chance. There’re lots of types of ice cream at Junes, but I rarely go to the grocery department and never saw Chie buy anything at all.”

“But ‘mint’ is ‘green’, right?” Souji pointed out.

“Yeah, so what if it-.. Oh. OH!” Yosuke’s face went from confused squinting to a sly smirk in a few seconds. “I see where you’re going with this, partner!”

Kanji was still puzzled.

“..I kinda don’t.”

“Look, if ‘Chie’ equals ‘green’, and ‘mint’ equals ‘green’, then ‘Chie’ equals ‘mint’!”

Looking down at his unfinished math homework, Kanji exhaled.

“I’m never having a ‘break’ with you guys again, got it?”

“We vote point 1 is a lie!” Yosuke declared.

“Well, too bad,” Chie grinned. “It’s strawberry.”

Both Souji and Yosuke slammed their eyes shut in defeat and sighed a collective “ ‘Red’, so close..”

Having no idea what the two were so upset about, Kanji scratched the back of his head.

“You go next, senpai. I’ll pass.”

Souji’s attention immediately shifted from the defeat to Kanji.

“You sure you don’t want to?” he asked with genuine concern.

“Yosuke won’t stop you mid-sentence now,” Chie reminded, but Kanji shook his head anyway.

“Nah, not my thing.”

“..All right then,” Souji took up his pen and started writing. After finishing the third line, he bent the notepad and set it up on the table, facts facing the others.

Everyone’s looks got glued to the carefully written words and became more and more perplexed by the second.

“Honestly, two of these sound totally fake,” Yosuke summed up. “You sure there’s only one lie in here?”

Souji nodded.

“A blue invisible door in the shopping district?” Chie looked up at Souji. “Where?”

“Near Daidara’s store,” he answered, but Chie still eyed him suspiciously.

“Is it.. somehow connected with the TV world?” she suggested.

“In a way, yeah.”

Yosuke furrowed his brow.

“Why wouldn't you ever tell us about it then?”

“I don't think you can make any use of it, since you all have only one persona,” Souji had to admit.

“Then.. this one can be true, right?” Chie glanced at Yosuke and Kanji, still uncertain.

“He can lie about a lie, remember?” Yosuke dropped yet another sigh. “But damn, we do know little about all this persona stuff in your case...”

“Does it matter though when there’s a thing like this?” Kanji pointed at the second line in the notepad. “No way in hell you’ve met that shrine ghost, senpai. Everyone knows it’s just a tale to scare off kids at night.”

“I did meet it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kanji snorted a laugh. “And what did you two talk about?”

“Fish and gems.”

“C’mon, senpai, at least come up with something easier to believe in!”

“I’m serious,” Souji said, completely unperturbed.

A line between his brows, Kanji kept looking at Souji’s face, as if hoping to find any breach in his composed and confident attitude. But it was as unrelenting as always.

“Dammit, you’re a tough player, senpai,” Kanji gave up and exhaled. “At least we know the last one’s true.”

“Yeah, Souji-kun _is_ a dog person.”

“Totally,” Yosuke chuckled. “And you know, I think Kanji’s right. If the door is connected to some persona stuff, he may see and use it for real. But talking to a ghost? That’s just weird.”

Chie shrugged.

“Well, he talks to foxes, why not ghosts.”

“Don’t say it like they even exist,” Yosuke scoffed in response.

“So, personas and shadows are okay, but ghosts are not?” Chie shook her head in disapproval. “That’s discrimination of the paranormal, Yosuke.”

“I only believe in stuff I’ve seen with my own eyes,” Yosuke cut her off. “Are you with me and Kanji for the second point?”

“Well, gotta agree, the blue door sounds better,” she looked up at Souji. “What’s your answer, leader?”

Without saying anything, Souji took the notepad and put it back to normal.

“Third point was a lie.”

All three froze in shock and confusion, trying to digest the truth.

“Senpai, you don’t mean that-..”

“No way, partner!” Yosuke exploded, interrupting Kanji. “You, a cat person? With your attitude, loyalty, and dedication you’re like some adorable dog yourself!”

There was a short pause and then - a whistle from Chie.

“Wow, I never thought the word ’adorable’ was in your vocabulary,” she snickered, making Yosuke's face flush.

“T-that’s Kanji’s unhealthy influence!”

“Will you stop blaming everything on me, dammit?!”

“Well, if Yosuke compliments another guy like _that_ , it may well have something to do with Kanji-kun.”

“Chie-senpai, not you-..!”

A knock on the door didn't let Kanji finish his sentence. He found himself slowly getting used to this.

“Hey there, kids,” Adachi greeted everyone after opening the door and gestured downstairs. “Nanako-chan and Dojima-san are busy serving dinner, so they sent me here to ask you to put the study session on hold in about 10 minutes.” He chuckled. “Doesn’t look like a study session to me, though. Having fun, huh?”

“We’re just taking a small break,” Yosuke replied, still abashed.

”Yeah, doing some brain exercise,” Chie nodded. “Training our logics and stuff.”

“Would you like to join us, Adachi-san?”

Everyone looked at Souji with mixed expressions, but didn’t say anything about his offer aloud.

“And.. what’s this exercise?”

“You make two true and one fake statements about yourself – and we must guess the fake one,” Chie explained.

With a ‘why not’ shrug, Adachi leaned against the doorpost.

“Okay, let's say... I like dining in company, I hate tobacco smoke, and..” he trailed off, and then shrugged again, letting the left corner of his mouth quirk up, ”..I’m actually a cold-blooded murderer.”

A deep sigh of disappointment filled the room.

“Here I thought there was no worse liar than Kanji…” Yosuke brought a palm to his face.

“Hey, even I’m not this dumb!”

“Kanji-kun!”

”You probably shouldn't have said such an obvious lie at the end,” Souji smiled, covering for Kanji’s crude remark.

“Haha, probably,” Adachi ruffled his hair. “Guess I’m bad at this kind of games.”

“Duh,” Yosuke muttered to himself.

“Well, I’m off then. Don’t forget about dinner.”

Once Adachi closed the door to the room and left, Yosuke threw his head back and exhaled heavily.

“Man, I can only imagine how many troubles this goofball causes your uncle at work.”

Souji shrugged with a slight chuckle.

“I think he just didn't want to play.”

“Yeah, that was one way to end the game quick,” Chie laughed. “So, maybe we should head downstairs already? I smell lots of food.”

“Wait-wait-wait,” Yosuke stopped her from getting up. “We aren’t asking him about the ghost and door stuff, seriously?!”

“Oh, yeah!” Chie’s eyes lit up. “I’m actually very curious about it.”

“..I don’t think I’ll cover it all in just 5 minutes,” Souji shook his head, trying to shuffle things under the rug. “The door stuff, especially.”

“We’ll have enough time _after_ dinner,” Chie hummed.

“Hell yeah, the damn study session’s completely busted!”

“I’m sure partner’s not that happy about it,” Yosuke smirked, “but it’s not like he’s got any choice now that we know he kept so many things from us.”

Souji just let out a silent sigh; he couldn’t argue with that.


End file.
